Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart)
The preservation of the archives is the responsibility of the Secretary General of the Congregation of the Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur (NDSC). In the beginning, the documents were kept in a large steel box held securely by three locks, each with its own key. This box could only be opened for specific reasons and when the three key holders were present. As local houses opened and the Congregation grew, so did the number of documents and artifacts. It became clear that a larger repository was needed, and that a full-time archivist should be appointed for the classification and description of the fonds.
In 1987, at the request of the Superior General, Sister Thérèse Roy, NDSC, began working at the congregation’s Archives. Sr Roy carried all the existing archival material from 1002 Amirault Street, Dieppe, New Brunswick, to the current Motherhouse situated at 125, King Street, Moncton, NB. With the arrival of this new archivist began the real work of organizing the archives.
In 1987, materials archived were kept in many different rooms of the Motherhouse. As the volume of material grew every year, the General Council of the NDSC decided to build an up to code archival space, including a vault vast enough to contain all present and future material. This new archival space, complete with showcase room and offices, opened in May 2003.
The purpose of an archival repository, as described, is to preserve information, serve as a witness of the past and share it with subsequent generations. The Archives of Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur consists of some documents accumulated by our Congregation and some by the Sisters of Charity of the lmmaculate Conception, in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Digitizing of the archives began in 2015. Since then, all documents and photos have been digitized and entered in a specialized archival computer program. This permits safekeeping of all documents and allows for more efficient searches.
Plans are already in place, when need be, to transfer our archives to the Centre d’études acadiennes Anselme-Chiasson of the Université de Moncton.
The items below are the submissions selected by the Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur archivist for the History of the Sisters of Charity Federation Communities in Objects collaborative exhibit:
These objects were used by our Foundress who was 73 years old when she with 52 Sisters founded our Congregation.
This is also the first Wheel Chair used in our Congregation.
Our Foundress, Mère Marie-Anne, saw this Statue in a window display in Montréal and reserved it to be bought at a later date.
Pendant: This Sacred Heart was worn by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart after their final vows, since 1924, the year of our official foundation.
